Morton Koopa Jr.
Morton Koopa Jr. (known as Big Mouth Koopa in the cartoons) is one of the Koopalings, a clan of seven siblings1 that act as leaders of the Koopa Troop under Bowser (originally considered his children). Morton stands out because of his primarily darker skin coloration and his white head until New Super Mario Bros. Wii, in which his pale gray shell was also a point of interest due to the Koopalings now having unique shell colors. Morton is named after famed talk show host and singer-songwriter Morton Downey, Jr. This is the reason for the "Jr." at the end of his name, which was a point of confusion when he was first introduced as one of Bowser's children. No in-universe explanation of his name was provided at the time, though the editors of the magazine Nintendo Power once claimed that when they asked Bowser why Morton Koopa was called "Jr.", he denied having any sons, then pelted them with Bob-ombs until they left.2 Role in the series Personality Like all the other Koopalings, Morton's personality and traits have been shrouded in mystery, even more so than compared to the other Koopalings. Morton seems to prefer brawn over brains, similarly to Roy. The Super Mario Bros. 3 manual implies that he is astute enough to realize whether there are any possible setbacks regarding defeating Mario and can likewise report the information to Bowser, but the English translation toned down his thoughtful wording and made him seem angry. This is also true according to the Nintendo Player's Guide for Super Mario Advance 4, in which Morton is said to be a grouch with a cantankerous personality. The former characterization also was hinted at in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, where, when Iggy and Lemmy were eager to fight the Mario Bros., Morton reminds them that they had just wiped out Wendy, Larry, Ludwig, and Roy beforehand. He also seemed to be very protective of his siblings in the same game, as when Iggy and Lemmy are left disabled due to their attacks on the Mario Bros. backfiring, Morton declares his intention of avenging them. Morton may have an interest in construction, as in Mario Kart 8, there are advertisements for "Morton's Construction" with Morton's face on it. Curiously, in Ice Ice Outpost many containers and machines present the Morton or Morton Construction logo on them, suggesting that his company is collaborating with the Toads of the Toad Polar Expedition 2014-2015. Along with construction, one of his stunts include him flexing his muscles, which may indicate that he likes anything that takes on strength. The fourth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series states that he is proudly more brawn than brains. In Paper Mario: Color Splash, he was depicted as speaking in an unintelligent, loud and simple manner, such as saying "MORTON STRONG! MORTON MORE TONS!". In The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, all the Koopalings were given names to match the personalities they were given and such was the case with Morton, whose name was changed to Big Mouth Koopa. Big Mouth was extremely talkative, to the point of never seeming to know when to stop talking, which continuously forced Roy to interrupt him. According to the bio on the DVD set for The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, he was also extremely arrogant in regards to his intelligence, as well as exceptionally ignorant regarding the actual facts of the world, and he never accepts responsibility for being wrong, preferring to blame others instead. In addition, he was also known to make cutting remarks, which were severe enough to even make his father cry if directed at him. Very few actual Mario games ever gave Morton lines, although unused lines for Mario is Missing!, which would have been used for a planned boss battle against Morton, implied that he was largely sarcastic and wise-cracking. Relationships Category:Villains Category:Males